Because of their ability to move large amounts of material, conveyor belts have been long used in industry such as for moving agricultural products. One area in which conveyor belts are extensively used is equipment for moving agricultural products and, in particular, agricultural equipment that is used for harvesting. Wide-aspect belts are extensively used in farm machinery, especially harvesting implements, examples of which are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,371,580 and 4,518,647.
Because of the nature of the equipment on which the belting is used, it is typically not possible for the belting to be formed in a continuous loop. Rather, the belting is typically formed with two opposite ends that are attached together when the belting is installed on the equipment.
The belting connection mechanism needs to have a strength that is comparable to the strength of the other portions of the belting. The belting connection mechanism also needs to have a flexibility that is similar to the flexibility of the other portions of the belting to facilitate the belting extending around rollers. The belting connection mechanism further needs to have a thickness that is similar to the thickness of the other portions of the belting.
While a variety of belting connection mechanisms have been developed, such prior art belting connection mechanisms have been deficient on one or more of the preceding elements and as a result of such deficiencies, the belting, the belting connection mechanism and/or the equipment on which the belting is installed exhibited deficient operational performance.